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The birth is only days away, but not everyone is caught up in the likeliest colour of the swaddling clothes or even who the parents will turn out to be. Jonathan Sher lays out what to watch for in the days ahead as Ontario voters deliver a new government in Thursday's election.

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Thirty-one days down, five to go.

A campaign many Ontarians didn't want is all but over, heading into its final stretch before Thursday's provincial election. When it all began, with Premier Kathleen Wynne's minority Liberals practically daring the NDP to vote down a high-spending budget loaded with goodies and an extra $1 billion in spending, most Ontarians were only dreaming of the May 2-4 weekend to come.

Not NDP Leader Andrea Horwath. She rejected the budget in a move that forced Wynne to pull the plug on her own government, plunging voters into a snap election.

Now, with the Big Three parties competing for that all-important, last-minute attention, there's that little matter of the Stanley Cup finals to distract you.

Oh, and the only now-arriving summer heat you've craved through a brutal winter.

Relax, we've got you covered with an election-week primer.

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THE STORYLINES

New Democrats:

Andrea Horwath, who kept the Liberals alive for 2 and 1/2 years, supporting their budgets, said they could no longer be trusted. She's played the corruption card against the Liberals, weighed down by a string of spending scandals -- including the $1-billion gas-plants fiasco -- and rising red ink.

Liberals:

Wynne, who took the handoff from McGuinty 16 months ago after he quit, is running her first election marathon as premier by sticking to her failed budget: "I'm for jobs, not cuts," she says in her ads. If returned to office, she says, the budget that got us here would be re-introduced.

Progressive Conservatives:

It's the second, and maybe final kick at the can for leader Tim Hudak, whose tough-love vows to whip Ontario's economy and deficit-stained books into shape have set the Tories apart in the race but made him an easy target for critics who see a throwback to the Mike Harris-era of the late 1990s.

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THE MAGIC NUMBERS

There are 107 ridings in Ontario, so a party must win 54 for a simple majority. A comfy edge of 55 is better, since the governing party usually coughs up the legislature's Speaker in an election by MPPs. When the election was called, the Liberals had 48 seats, the Tories 37 and the NDP 21. One seat was vacant. In the 10-riding London region, the PCs held seven seats, the NDP 2 and the Liberals one.

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MAJORITY/MINORITY

Voters put the last government on a short leash, leaving it one seat shy of a majority after the Liberals under former premier Dalton McGuinty had bagged two straight majorities. If Ontario ends up with another minority, it would be one for the books: Back-to-back minorities haven't happened in nearly 40 years, not since the Bill Davis-led Progressive Conservatives won two in 1975 and 1977.

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OTHER POSSIBILITIES

A majority would extend Liberal rule beyond anything the party has done since the 19th century.

Southwestern Ontario: London North Centre, where Health Minister Deb Matthews -- the last Liberal left standing in the 10-riding region -- faces two London city council veterans, Nancy Branscombe of the PCs and the NDP's Judy Bryant.

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WILD CARDS

The union for the Ontario Provincial Police this week began running ads attacking Hudak, who's vowed to freeze public-sector wages. What other interest groups might enter the final, frenetic fray?

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VOTING OPTIONS

Despite a record-low 48.2% turnout in the 2011 election, voting has never been easier in Ontario, with more dates and ways to vote. Advance polls ended Friday, but voters who couldn't get to those -- and can't vote on election day -- can still vote by special ballot, in person or by mail, until 6 p.m. Wednesday as long as they applied by June 6. Regular polls run Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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WE ASKED:What might the parties do to tilt the odds their way in the time left?

"With few exceptions, politicians and their "messages" inevitably disappear up their own sphincters . . . They should sit down, answer questions from an off-camera interviewer. Jump cut from one sincere message to the other. Cut it to 30 seconds, post the rest online. Do it in front of their childhood home. All from the heart, open and honest, throw the cynics a curve."

"Ms Wynne has to continue to use her personal reputation to distance herself from the McGuinty image. Mr. Hudak will soften his stance somewhat . . . . By becoming a little less scary, he could permit a portion of that voter segment to vote PC. Horwath will need to win back a slice of traditional NDP support . . . The ground troops are always important to the NDP and she has to hope she has not alienated too many of them."

--Fred Fletcher, expert in mass media and political science, who taught at York University.

"Wynne must make it about her and the future, not (McGuinty) and the past. Hudak needs to talk more about his grandparents and his daughter. Horwath must show she's a viable alternative to Wynne."

--Consultant Robin Sears of Earnscliffe Strategy Group, who directed four national NDP campaigns.